Fintans Fish & Chip Co.

The name 'Fintans' was inspired by a tale buried in Celtic folklore. The story tells of a fish named Fintan, said to be wiser than man. It was said that eating Fintan would grant all the knowledge in the world, and so this became the genesis for a brand story that we dubbed ‘there’s wisdom in the fish’:

Our story tells of Fintan, an ordinary little fish who ate a hazelnut which had fallen into the Well of Wisdom from the surrounding hazel trees. In doing so, Fintan gained all the world’s knowledge. It was said that the first person to eat our learn’ed friend would, in turn, gain this knowledge.

One day, after years of trying, a poet named Finn Eces caught poor Fintan and handed him to his young companion Fionn for safe keeping. Unable to resist, Fionn began to cook the fish, turning it over and over, but alas, touching its scaley hide to inspect whether it was cooked he burnt his thumb, instinctively sucking on his scolded digit to ease the pain. Little did Fionn know that all of Fintan’s wisdom had been concentrated into that one little drop of fat.

When he presented the cooked meal, Finn saw that the boy’s eyes shone with a wisdom previously unseen. He asked Fionn if he had eaten any of the fish despite his instructions.

Now realising what had transpired, Finn permitted the boy to eat the fish and in so doing he indeed gained all the Fintan’s wisdom. Throughout the rest of his life, Fionn drew upon this knowledge merely by biting his thumb. The deep wisdom gained from the Fish of Knowledge allowed Fionn to become a leader of his people, a famed hero of repute.

Well, we certainly can’t promise that eating our freshly-caught, beautifully battered fish will give you instant wisdom too, but we can promise it’ll sure be tasty finding out!

Our founder Spiro—having himself searched for the perfect fish and chip since 1989—is proud to say finally, with assured wisdom, it’s arrived! Fintans is pleased to bring you locally sourced produce with everything to satisfy your hungry belly. Delicious, light and fluffy chips accompanied with everything from glorious haddock to supreme scampi. We hope you enjoy and find the wisdom to follow the lighthouse back to Fintans soon!

The mark is a nod to the previous logo which had featured an emblematic lighthouse silhouette, providing a connection between old and new. We then worked with a copywriter to craft a bouncing tone of voice which was dressed with a mix of vintage, weathered lino-style illustration and type, aggregated to build a connected and storied brand. 

The brand was rolled out to signage and window graphics, in-store touchpoints, packaging, print and staff uniform.